By Lee Brown
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and a host of Hollywood celebs have been slammed as hypocrites for refusing to don masks at the Super Bowl in defiance of the local mandate.
The California city’s health department had repeatedly noted that “masks will be required at the stadium” for Sunday’s big game — and even gave out upgraded KN95 ones to everyone in attendance.
But footage from private boxes at SoFi Stadium showed the vast majority of celeb attendees watching the Rams’ victory with their faces cover-free.
A photo being widely shared online even appeared to catch Garcetti, 51, chatting to a group while none of them wore masks — despite the mayor taking flak for a similar slip two weeks earlier.
His lack of mask comes as health officials have insisted that virus-related hospital admissions need to be below 2,500 in Los Angeles County for seven days in a row to consider lifting the outdoor mask mandate for mega-events.
Garcetti had been widely mocked the previous Sunday for claiming he had been holding his breath when he posed for a smiling pic with NBA legend Magic Johnson, also at SoFi Stadium.
“This is the Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, at the Super Bowl. He is indoors. He is also maskless,” tweeted talk radio host Dan O’Donnell, noting the current LA-wide indoor mask mandate.
“Do not ever take these people seriously,” he tweeted.
Many joked that the mayor, who appeared to be chatting to four other men — one with a mask on his chin — was likely again holding his breath.
AG Hamilton, a conservative commentator with nearly 100,000 followers, noted it was “the second game in a row” for the seemingly maskless mayor.
“But they are still forcing kids to wear masks every day,” he tweeted, a message shared by many others online.
Other commentators were equally angered by the slew of Hollywood elite photographed openly defying the mask rule at the game.
One widely shared video clip showed the likes of LeBron James, Jay-Z, Matt Damon, Jennifer Lopez and beau Ben Affleck — none of whom were wearing face coverings.
Others seen posing for mask-free photos included Kanye West, Drake, Justin Bieber and wife Hailey, as well as Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia de Rossi.
Charlize Theron also became a meme, with some sharing images of her smiling at the game — some of which she shared herself — alongside a throwback tweet of her saying, “Don’t be an ass, #WearADamnMask.”
As with the mayor, the stars did not appear to be eating or drinking at the time, which was the only allowed exception to wearing a face covering for anyone age 2 and up at the big game.
“Apparently COVID can’t touch you if you drop five-grand on Super Bowl tickets,” podcaster Eric Matheny wrote in a tweet dripping with sarcasm.
“But tomorrow morning, school children – for whom COVID is nearly 100% survivable – will wear masks for eight hours. Science.”
Radio host Clay Travis shared a video clip of many of the celebs at the game, noting the mayor’s scandal as he quipped that the stars must also “be holding their breaths the entire game.”
“But every kid in California will have to be wearing them tomorrow in school,” he tweeted.